HS Code for Duvet Covers: Classification Guide for Importers

If you import duvet covers for a hotel group, retailer or home-textile brand, the hs code for duvet covers is the line your customs entry, duty calculation and origin claim depend on. The Harmonized System is a multipurpose international product nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO), comprising more than 5,000 commodity groups, each identified by a six-digit code, and used by more than 200 countries and economies as a basis for their customs tariffs.¹ For duvet covers, the code turns on one question first: is the article an empty cover, or is it filled. An empty cover is bed linen in heading 6302. A filled duvet is bedding in heading 9404. This guide covers classification only; the ordering steps are in how to import duvet covers from Bangladesh and the inspection points in the duvet covers quality control checklist. Bed sheets share the same bed linen block, covered in the hs code for bed sheets guide.

Quick answer: indicative HS heading (with verify note)

The HS organises its approximately 5,000 six-digit product categories by sections, chapters (2 digits), headings (4 digits) and sub-headings (6 digits).² An empty duvet cover sits in Chapter 63, other made up textile articles, under heading 6302, bed linen, table linen, toilet linen and kitchen linen.³ Inside that heading, bed linen splits first by knitted or crocheted construction, then by printed or not printed, then by fibre.³

Verify the filling status, the construction, the print and the fibre, not the label. The UK tariff lists the bed linen lines in this order: 6302.10, the printed lines at 6302.21, 6302.22 and 6302.29, and the other lines at 6302.31, 6302.32 and 6302.39.³ Treat heading 6302 as indicative for an empty cover and confirm the full national code before filing.

How HS codes are structured (2-4-6 digits)

Each pair of digits narrows the category: chapter 63 for made up textile articles, heading 6302 for bed, table, toilet and kitchen linen, then a six-digit subheading by construction, print and fibre, and a national extension of 8 to 10 digits.²

Countries subdivide the six-digit categories into national subheadings for their tariffs and statistics.² The current version is HS 2022.² Read the 6-digit HS code guide for more on the structure.

Factors that decide the code for duvet covers

Empty cover or filled article is the first test. A duvet cover is a removable envelope with an opening and a closure, made to hold a separate duvet insert. It carries no filling of its own, so it is bed linen in heading 6302.³ Heading 9404 covers articles of bedding and similar furnishing, for example mattresses, quilts, eiderdowns, cushions, pouffes and pillows, fitted with springs or stuffed or internally fitted with any material.⁴ The United States schedule lists quilts, bedspreads, eiderdowns and duvets (comforters) at 9404.40.⁴

Use as bed linen. Heading 6302 covers four linen groups in one heading: bed linen, table linen, toilet linen and kitchen linen.³ A cover made to dress a duvet on a bed is bed linen. The European Commission classification guidance makes the general point directly: check the attributes of the goods, because a small feature or point of difference can mean a different classification code than you would otherwise assume.⁵ The same fabric sold by the roll is not bed linen: the chapter notes state that Subchapter I applies only to made up articles.⁶

Knitted or crocheted construction takes the first line. Bed linen that is knitted or crocheted sits at 6302.10, whatever the fibre.³ Most export duvet covers are woven, so most orders are tested against the printed and other blocks below.

Printed or not printed is the next split for woven covers. Woven bed linen that is printed takes 6302.21 for cotton, 6302.22 for man-made fibres and 6302.29 for other textile materials.³ Woven bed linen that is not printed, including plain dyed and white covers, takes 6302.31, 6302.32 and 6302.39 on the same fibre split.³ A printed cotton cover and a plain cotton cover from the same mill therefore take different lines.

Fibre composition and blends. Inside each block, the split runs by textile material.³ For a blend, the textile section notes classify a mixture as the single textile material that predominates by weight, and where no material predominates, as the material covered by the heading that occurs last in numerical order.³ Record the fibre percentages by weight for every style: a cotton-predominant printed cover takes 6302.21, while a polyester-predominant version moves to 6302.22.³

Closure type and size do not move the six-digit line. The bed linen lines turn on construction, print and fibre.³ A button closure, a zip closure and an envelope fold are three ways of closing the same empty cover, and sizes of the same fabric, finish and fibre share one line.

A cover set can span more than one line. A retail set of a printed duvet cover with plain pillowcases is still bed linen, but the pieces do not automatically share one six-digit line, because the lines turn on print and fibre piece by piece.³ The US schedule separates pillowcases and sheets from other bed linen at the statistical level, and duvet covers fall in the other suffix of the matching line.⁶ Code each piece separately. A set that packs a filled duvet inside its cover needs a binding decision before shipping.^{3 4}

The furnishing boundary: bedspreads sit elsewhere. Heading 6304 covers other furnishing articles, excluding those of heading 9404.⁶ A decorative bedspread or coverlet is a furnishing article, not bed linen and not a duvet cover. Keep covers, bedspreads and filled duvets on separate descriptions.

National codes: US HTS, EU CN/TARIC, UK commodity code

United States: HTS, ten digits. The United States builds its ten-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule on the same first six digits, so a woven cotton cover starts from 6302.21 if printed or 6302.31 if not printed.⁶ The US schedule then splits those lines by embroidery, lace, braid, edging, trimming, piping or applique work, and by napped or not napped, with statistical suffixes that separate pillowcases and sheets and place other bed linen, including duvet covers, on the other suffix of each line.⁶ Read the full ten-digit line for each piece before filing.

European Union: CN at eight digits, TARIC for measures. The Combined Nomenclature integrates the HS and adds EU subdivisions, producing eight-digit codes.² The six-digit splits by construction, print and fibre carry into the eight-digit CN. Read the confirmed line in TARIC for the entry date and origin Bangladesh, and check the origin rules behind any preference claim.

United Kingdom: commodity code. The UK builds its commodity code on the same first six digits, with its own extension after them.² The UK tariff lists the full ten-digit codes under each bed linen line, including 6302 1000 00 for knitted or crocheted bed linen and 6302 3100 00 for other bed linen of cotton, and splits the printed cotton line by handloom manufacture and batik hand-printing.³ Take the full code from the UK Trade Tariff for your cover and entry date.

How to confirm the code officially

1. Write a precise description: empty cover or filled article, woven or knitted construction, printed or not printed, fibre percentages by weight, and closure type.

2. Start from the official tariff for the destination: the USITC HTS, TARIC or the UK Trade Tariff, and read the heading text and notes.

3. Check published rulings for similar bed linen. For the United States, the USITC advises traders to use the Customs Rulings Online Search Service (CROSS), because the correct classification of many items can be found there.⁷

4. For a borderline product, such as a cover sold with its insert inside, apply for a binding decision before you ship. In the EU, a Binding Tariff Information (BTI) application needs a separate application for each type of product and a detailed description.⁸ In the United Kingdom, a legally binding decision is generally valid for 3 years, through an Advance Tariff Ruling.⁹ In the United States, if the merchandise is not described in any ruling on CROSS, you may request a binding ruling from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.⁷

5. Give your broker the description and the confirmed code for each piece, and use the same codes throughout the entry.

Common classification mistakes

Filing a filled duvet on a duvet cover line. Heading 6302 covers the empty cover.³ A duvet, quilt or comforter with its filling inside is a stuffed bedding article in heading 9404, at 9404.40 in the United States schedule.⁴

Filing every cover at one cotton line. Heading 6302 splits bed linen by construction, print and fibre.³ A knitted cover, a printed cotton cover and a plain polyester cover take three different lines: 6302.10, 6302.21 and 6302.32.³ Ignoring print status. Printed and not printed woven covers sit in different blocks of heading 6302.³ A design change from plain dyed to printed changes the six-digit line even when the fibre stays the same.

Filing a blend on the cotton line without weighing the fibres. A mixture is classified as the textile material that predominates by weight.³ If polyester outweighs cotton, the cotton lines do not apply.

Filing a bedspread as a duvet cover. A bedspread is a furnishing article in heading 6304, which excludes articles of heading 9404.⁶ A coverlet in the same shipment needs its own description and code.

Copying a towel code onto a cover order. Towels are toilet linen inside the same heading 6302, on the lines at 6302.60, 6302.91, 6302.93 and 6302.99, covered in the hs code for bath towels guide.³ Covers never take a toilet linen line.

Related duties and documents

This guide states no duty rates: the code decides which duty line customs applies, and a rate read beside the printed cotton line does not carry to the plain cotton line, to a man-made fibre line or to a filled duvet in heading 9404. Read the rate beside your confirmed code for your origin and entry date.

Keep the classification file with the shipment documents: the description with filling status, construction, print status and fibre percentages by weight, the confirmed national code per piece, any binding decision, and the origin evidence.

FAQs

What is the HS code for duvet covers?

An empty duvet cover is bed linen in heading 6302. A knitted or crocheted cover sits at 6302.10. A woven cover sits at 6302.21, 6302.22 or 6302.29 if printed, and at 6302.31, 6302.32 or 6302.39 if not printed, split by fibre.³ A filled duvet or comforter is different goods in heading 9404.⁴

Is the HS code the same in every country?

Only the first six digits are harmonised. Beyond six digits, each country adds its own lines: eight digits in the EU Combined Nomenclature,² and ten in the United Kingdom, where the printed cotton line splits further,³ and in the United States, where pillowcases and sheets take separate statistical suffixes.⁶

How do I confirm the correct code?

Describe each piece precisely, with filling status, construction, print status and fibre percentages by weight, read the heading text and notes in the destination tariff, and check published rulings, such as CROSS for the United States.⁷ For a borderline product, apply for a binding decision before shipping: a BTI in the EU,⁸ an Advance Tariff Ruling in the United Kingdom,⁹ or a CBP binding ruling in the United States.⁷

What happens if I use the wrong code?

Duty, licensing and quota treatment are worked out from the code on the declaration, so a wrong code brings the wrong treatment. Taking a binding decision in advance helps you calculate the duties and restrictions that will apply.⁹

Next steps on Exportain

Browse Bangladeshi suppliers on Exportain, a B2B marketplace where supplier profiles carry document and photo review badges, and post a free RFQ at Exportain RFQs with the confirmed code stated per piece. The harmonized system tariff code explainer is the background read. Exportain is not a party to the goods contract and does not inspect goods, book freight or clear customs.